Before you begin reading today's entry, let me have a few lines. Me being me, I am quite the anti-Valentine. Don't get me wrong, I love pampering my special someone and being pampered, however, Valentine's Day has always been, well, just a Hallmark holiday to me. With that said, as I sought to invite bloggers for this week, I asked someone more in touch with her inner cupid to pen a Valentine's Day entry but, um, er, I got the day wrong. V-Day has always been on the same day? Uh, yeah. So, here in the Met, we are celebrating it two-fold. Aspiring blogger, Scenic, penned today's piece as a precursor to her own Web site, "ScenicScene" launching in the weeks to come. She will also deliver tomorrow's entry for the official Love Fest day. Without further ado, I give you one of the most powerful Valentine pieces I have ever read and didn't do.

'V' is for Vagina 


Remember, remember, the 14th of February.

Well, it doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well the familiar poem of Gun Powder Treason Plot now re-popularized in the film “V for Vendetta” but this V holds more significance than any other. This week, 'V' is for Valentine's, of course. But, since the day Eve Ensler dared to speak the word in mixed company more than a decade ago, 'V' is for Vagina. Most importantly, 'V' is for Victory over the violence against women and, that, is her life’s goal.

In 1996 in a theater off, off Broadway, Ensler introduced us to her play, “The Vagina Monologues.”


Photo courtesy of www.aug.edu

In several acts, each monologue discussed a different aspect and relationship to the VaJayJay. It approached tabooed subjects directly and unapologetically with humor, wit and twinges of pain that at least 1 in 3 women in the audience could relate to on a personal level. For the remainder of the audience, the vagina was something they were aware of and now were faced with a cause and calling to reckon with it. It's here, it's queer, on occasion, get used to it.

"When I started this 10 years ago, no one said the word 'vagina.' Let's start there. Something has shifted in people," Ensler said in a New York Times interview.

Celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and Alanis Morrisette delivered the Monologues. Each dealt with sexual abuse, genital mutilation, birth, as well as with sex, masturbation and their love child, the orgasm. Is there any part of those every person on the planet cannot relate to? We all came from one, more than half of us have one and the other half spends the greater focus of their time trying to get into one. After the play opened to rave reviews, it gave people permission to say the word in public.

The importance of this movement cannot be overstated.

Fact: Estimates show there are between 960,000 and 3 million incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend every year.
Fact: As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy.
Fact: At least one out of every three women worldwide are beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, with rates reaching 70% in some countries.
Fact: Women of ALL ethnicities are equally vulnerable to acts of violence committed by a partner.

If the facts weren't enough to give you cause for alarm, then think of three women in your life and how a violent, sexual act might affect them if it hasn't already. Think of your mother, your sister, or your daughter. With these statistics, one of them is or will someday be a survivor of a sexual assault, rape or another violent act committed against her simply for having been born female.

If you racked your brain and thought of every woman you know and don't recall a one that bears memories or scars of an attack of this nature, then allow me to introduce myself. I'm Scenic and 16 years ago, I survived sexual assault and rape. Thing is, I'm not part of the statistics as I did not report it. I believe the vast majority of women affected do not report rape and other violent acts because they feel shame or simply do not believe the system will do anything to protect them from future abuse or will hold them responsible for the abuses they experienced.

It's my sound belief that if every woman reported every incidence of these atrocities, the statistics would reflect that 1 in 2 women will or have survived a violent act or sexual assault. Late night wine and cheese for the ladies in the comfort of a private home, just after the Pampered Chef party ends and cocktails loosen the restraints lifting the veils to reveal there are more of us than are known to any report. We are the secret statistic and according to Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D. of the National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center, rape is the most underreported crime in America.

If envisioning a family member didn't conjure testimony to these facts, with my revelation you now know of someone affected. Now, you have no excuse for not believing the astronomical statistical rates of abuse. Had this movement been in place 16 years ago, perhaps my story would have been different. Perhaps there would have been tougher laws against rapists and abusers. Perhaps those reporting the crime wouldn't be the ones under severe scrutiny after reporting such incidents and, thus, fear making any report at all. Perhaps with the knowledge and support funded by V-Day, what happened to me would never have happened at all. The past cannot be changed and although the future is uncertain, you can have an impact until we eliminate survivor stories and the need for a movement to protect women.

On Valentine's Day of all days, show your love and devotion to the women of this world by taking part in the V-Day movement.

The Monologues made the vagina acceptable water-cooler discussion. It opened women up to a word previously reserved for 7th grade health class. The Monologues led to investigations behind locked bathrooms squatting over a mirror, if one could be so bold, or quiet nights spent alone exploring folds and velvety flesh to see what all the fuss what about.

These days, the fuss focuses on the 10th anniversary of Ensler's V-day, a Valentine's Day movement to create awareness, raise funds to support anti-violence projects across the globe and remember those affected by violence against women. V-Day events take place annually between Valentine's Day and March 8th, International Woman's Day. To date, Ensler's V-Day and The Vagina Monologues raised more than $50 Million and this year alone will host 3,500 V-Day events worldwide.

This year, Ensler and her supporters, known as Vagina Warriors will host a celebration of the 10th Anniversary of V-Day in the New Orleans Superdome.


Photo courtesy of westendtheater.com

"We're turning the Superdome into 'SUPERLOVE.' There's going to be music, there's going to be slam poets, and story telling, and amazing speakers," she said.

So today, instead of buying a dozen roses and a box of chocolates that will lose its impact after a day for a loved one, do something that will lend itself to the effort of protecting the women in your life and in this world for a lifetime. Today, show your love for women by giving the Valentine's Day gift of taking action.

How you can take action:

Host or attend an event, contribute to V-Day, Amnesty International or The Stop The Violence campaign.

1) Find a V-Day event in your area.
2) Initiated by Amnesty International, the I-Violence Against Women Act is legislation that will have global impact in reducing and eliminating acts of violence against women and girls. Support legislation to pass the I-VAWA act.
3) Join the Stop the Violence against Women campaign.